Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Alumina-Glass Composites

Alumina blanks were prepared via isostatic pressing and sintering at 1400°C for 2 h, whereas alumina‐glass composites were prepared by infiltrating the molten glass into the partially sintered alumina compacts. The samples had a high bending strength (340 MPa) and high fracture toughness (3.91 MPa·m1/2) and were free of shrinkage. Concurrently, zirconia (5 wt%) was used as an additive to alumina to improve the mechanical properties of both partially sintered alumina and alumina‐glass composites. Results show that zirconia notably improves the mechanical properties of the partially sintered alumina but increases that of the composites by no more than 10%.